


Know The Acts We Play

by heartsdesire456



Series: Coulson Family Fics [6]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Betrayal, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, No Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-09
Updated: 2014-04-09
Packaged: 2018-01-18 18:20:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1438054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartsdesire456/pseuds/heartsdesire456
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Skye leaned back over the arm of the couch to look up at him, holding up her tablet. “Hey, you, the dead lady that tried to kill Clint and fried your suit is apparently a SHIELD Agent.”</p>
<p>“Says who?” Phil asked as he walked into the living room, drying his hands on a towel.</p>
<p>“Autopsy,” Skye said, handing him the tablet. “Agent Barbara Morse, apparently.”</p>
<p>Phil snatched the tablet from her suddenly and Clint sat up, eyes wide. “That was not Bobbi,” he said to Skye, shaking his head. “That woman was not Bobbi Morse.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Know The Acts We Play

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo I saw Captain America: The Winter Soldier and I saw Agents of SHIELD episode 17- "Turn, Turn, Turn" and I decided that I'm going to continue with my 'slightly along with canon' AU thing I've got going on. You can guess where this is going if you're up to date with the MCU.
> 
> If not, NO WORRIES! NO spoilers here, but... yeah next one will totally have spoilers. HOWEVER it IS STILL AU! It's not like I'm suddenly going to dip into the actual MCU scenes.

“This can’t be right,” Skye said from her spot sitting with Clint in the living room of Stark Tower. “Hey Phil!” she called into the kitchen behind them. “Is SHIELD missing any agents?”

“What’s up?” Stark asked as he came walking into the living room. “Why are we shouting across my living room?”

Skye leaned back over the arm of the couch to look up at him, holding up her tablet. “Hey, you, the dead lady that tried to kill Clint and fried your suit is apparently a SHIELD Agent.”

“Says who?” Phil asked as he walked into the living room, drying his hands on a towel.

“Autopsy,” Skye said, handing him the tablet. “Agent Barbara Morse, apparently.”

Phil snatched the tablet from her suddenly and Clint sat up, eyes wide. “That was not Bobbi,” he said to Skye, shaking his head. “That woman was not Bobbi Morse.”

Stark hummed, looking over Phil’s shoulder. “Sure you’re not mistaken? According to this the DNA, dental records, fingerprints, and injury history all match. No body copy or anything-“

“The voice and face and hair were all wrong. Hell, the body frame was wrong,” Clint argued. “There is no way that was Bobbi.”

Phil nodded. “Clint would know better than anybody,” he said and Skye frowned.

“Wait, did you know her?” she asked Clint suddenly.

Clint hesitated, giving her an awkward smile. “Okay, it’s going to sound _really_ bad-“

“Agent Morse was Clint’s wife,” Phil answered.

Clint cringed. “Yeah, Phil’s not the first person I’ve been married to,” he admitted. “But! It’s not what you think! It was for an op-“

“He claims that,” Phil interrupted. “But the truth is, a certain set of undercover operatives got excessively inebriated while _on a SHIELD mission_ and decided a quickie marriage at a chapel in Las Vegas was a great idea,” Phil explained, and Clint pulled one of the pillows off the couch to cover his head as he flopped back.

“I was young and stupid-“

“And horribly unprofessional,” Phil reminded him with a look that said he was enjoying this way too much. “You see, Barton may be one of the most disciplined SHIELD Agents out there now, but before he and I settled into a groove as far as handler-asset goes, he liked to push the boundaries of what Fury would put up with before he had him just shot and out of his hair.”

Stark whistled. “Whoa, so your ex-wife wanted you dead?”

Clint sat up, face losing its humor. “I don’t get it. That was not Bobbi.” He looked at Skye. “Bobbi was my partner before Natasha. When I first got assigned to a partner and to Phil, Bobbi was my partner. And yes, we got married on an op and stayed married for a couple of months before we realized it had been a really bad idea because alcohol said ‘go for it’ and the sex was good.” He shook his head. “You don’t not notice your partner no matter what happens to their hair or whatever. If that was Bobbi, she’s had major reconstructive surgery and body-altering plastic surgery, because the shoulders looked broader and her legs were bigger than Bobbi ever was.”

Phil hummed. “Agent Morse has been on deep cover for two and a half years, so… it’s entirely possible,” he muttered. “The record does show silicone implants in the body – not breast enlargement – and signs of facial alterations.” He looked slightly pale. “Apparently I killed my former asset in that clearing.”

Stark scoffed. “She was going to kill me and Clint, so I think she officially missed her chance at being ‘employee of the month’, don’t you think?”

“Shit,” Clint said, shaking his head. “Boss, what the hell could’ve happened?” he asked curiously. “When was her last check in?”

Phil pulled out his phone. “I’m going to go make some calls. I’ll be back,” he said, turning to walk out. 

Clint watched him go, then shook his head, looking at his broken foot propped up on the pillow. “Jesus. So I got captured and held captive by my ex-wife and her decidedly not-SHIELD organization, and then my husband killed her.” He rubbed at his eyes. “That’s not something most people have to deal with.”

Stark whistled. “So, you were married before Phil? What about him?”

Clint shook his head. “Nah,” he said, then chuckled hollowly. “It’s not really like my marriage to Bobbi counted. We didn’t even have any sort of feelings for each other besides friendship. Didn’t really have that much attraction really, but when you’re on long ops with just each other, it’s not like you can go hook up with some random at a bar, you know? Shit happens.”

Skye snickered. “Look at May and Ward,” she said and Tony gaped.

“Holy shit, really?!” he asked, and Skye nodded. 

Clint smiled sadly. “I was already in love with Phil, even back then,” he admitted and Skye smiled at him. “We didn’t get together for years, though. Bobbi and I got married because ‘why not?’. We were undercover as a married couple anyways, and we were pretty stupid.” Clint groaned. “And there is a reason I don’t drink. Unlike Stark, who is a functioning alcoholic, I’ve never wanted to drink, so on the rare occasion it happens, I do really stupid shit. Thank God I’m a silly idea drunk, not a mean one.”

Stark looked him over. “You okay, Barton? I mean, you did just find out your former partner turned sides,” he said and Clint shrugged.

“I’m shaken, but it’s not the first time something unexpected happened, won’t be the last.” He chuckled. “Honestly though? I always figured Tasha would flip before Bobbi. Bobbi was first-in SHIELD. She came in green out of the military. Me and Nat both came in from the dirtier life of guns for hire. Seems like we’d be less likely to jump ship.”

Tony went to flop down on the chair across from them. “A certain little mini-geek supposedly made Agent think she had jumped ship,” he said, and Skye winced.

“Yeah, well, I was terrified and tried to play that fuckface and it failed. Ward had to save my ass.” She made a face. “Then that assbasket shot me next time I saw him.”

Clint growled. “Pisses me off so bad he’s not dead,” he said, shaking his head. “Phil made me promise not to,” he explained to Skye. “I totally beat the ever-loving shit out of him, though.”

Skye smirked. “And that’s why you’re the coolest stepdad ever.” She looked over as Clint looked at his foot again, hand moving to the still-healing stitches in his side. She reached out and grabbed his other foot. “Are you really okay?” she asked.

Clint looked up at her with a distant look and smiled sadly. “Not really,” he admitted softly, reaching over his head. “Literally the only two people I would’ve less expected to betray me are Phil and Natasha. Even if I expected her to flip sides first, Natasha would never betray me.” He looked down the couch at Skye. “I didn’t think Bobbi would either. I haven’t seen her in two and a half years because of the deep cover, but even after our annulment and reassignment, we still were passing friends. For years she was my partner. She was my first Nat. Maybe not as close as me and Nat, but she was still the one to cover my six.” He shook his head. “I don’t even know if you guys can understand what I mean.”

Tony chuckled darkly. “Well the man who was a surrogate father to me had me kidnapped by terrorists that one time, so there’s that,” he pointed out and Clint cringed.

“Oh yeah I keep forgetting that. Yep, you totally know what I mean when I say it’s being betrayed by the someone you would never expect to.” He ran a hand over his face. “Bobbi was my best friend at one point. Before Nat, before Phil and I were really close, she was the only SHIELD agent that got assigned as my partner that didn’t try and run for the hills.”

Skye rubbed at his ankle soothingly. “And therein lies the reason I wanted to go it alone for so long.”

Tony hummed. “For the record, if any of you guys ever turn on me, I’m totally not sharing my toys anymore,” he said, and Skye and Clint both laughed at how serious he seemed to be about it.

~

Phil watched as Clint loosed another arrow. Then another. And another. He had been shooting for well over an hour now and Phil could see the way his arms were starting to tremble. He waited until Clint stopped to swap quivers and walked into the range. He crossed over to him and just when Clint raised the bow again, he stopped. Clint loosed one arrow and then sighed, lowering his bow. Phil took the sign and stepped closer, curling his arms around Clint’s middle from behind.

Clint leaned into his embrace and tipped his head against Phil’s neck. “I’m alright.”

“No you aren’t,” Phil said softly, nosing against his temple. He slid one hand up Clint’s shirt, stroking at his belly, and kissed his head. “I’m so sorry. I promise, we’re going to figure out what happened to Bobbi.”

Clint smiled sadly, turning in Phil’s arms. “I know,” he said, kissing Phil softly before sliding his arms around Phil and laying his head on his shoulder, hanging on while Phil held him tightly. “I just want to know what would make her turn on me of all people. I mean, I know we haven’t been partners for ages and I haven’t talked to her in over two years, but it isn’t like years in administrative suddenly made May untrustworthy for you.”

Phil chuckled. “Next thing we know she’ll turn on me,” he joked. “Although, Nick still won’t talk to me about what he did so… no telling what’s going on.” 

Clint shook his head. “I would’ve expected _Steve_ to turn on me before Bobbi. That’s what’s getting me the most. There are very few people I trust to not turn on me.” He winced and Phil could feel it. “I hate to say this, because I really wish it wasn’t so… but I honestly would expect Skye to turn on me before Bobbi.”

Phil sighed. “Sadly, I would too,” he admitted. “She’s my daughter, and I trust her with almost every bit of me, but no matter what, I’ve known her for less than a year. I could never fully trust someone that fast.”

Clint hummed. “She probably doesn’t fully trust us either.”

“True,” Phil said, stroking a hand over the small of Clint’s back. He hummed. “I probably need to leave soon. We still have things to do.”

Clint pulled back and smirked. “Gotta go be all badass on me, huh?” he asked.

Phil smirked. “The fact I’m not being just an ass about the fact you’ve been on that foot for nearly two hours is only because I don’t want to make you angry at me if I’m leaving tomorrow,” he pointed out and Clint whined.

“Oh come on! I’m wearing a walking cast! Putting most of my weight on the other foot too. See?” he stood on one foot, wiggling the one in the cast. “I’m totally fine!”

Phil sighed dramatically. “Well, I guess I can let you off the hook for once,” he said, then looked at Clint with mischief in his eyes. “But I’m afraid I can’t let you keep standing on it,” he said, and then, without hesitation, scooped him up by his thighs. Clint just laughed and wrapped his legs around Phil’s middle, shifting to curl his arms around his shoulders, too.

“Phil. Hon, you’re getting a little old to be picking me up like this,” he teased and Phil glared.

“I will drop you,” he warned, but Clint clung to him, shaking his head.

“Nope, not happening,” he said, leaning in to kiss Phil, who hummed against his lips. “Although…” He made a show of looking around the range. “Nope, nobody here.” He looked down at Phil, eyes dark and face mock-serious. “There are four perfectly good walls you could brace me against at least. Relieve a little _tension_ ,” he purred, sliding his fingers through the hair on the back of Phil’s head.

Phil chuckled low in his throat, making Clint shiver. “You know, that might just work.”

“Yeah, I think so,” Clint answered playfully, yelping when Phil slapped his ass and started walking. “Ahhh, Phil, I was kidding, you’re gonna drop me!” 

Clint and Phil’s laughter faded into moans as their trip to the wall found their target. 

~

If Clint had had any idea how things would’ve gone, the last time he and Phil had been together, it wouldn’t have ended in semi-public sex and going to bed alone and sleeping through Phil and Skye and their team leaving the next morning.

But nobody could’ve ever predicted what happened next.


End file.
